A round-up of the week's other health news in brief ...
High intensity exercise cuts cancer deaths
People who exercise at high intensity are less likely to develop cancer and die, research out today suggests.
Jogging, swimming, rowing and games such as squash or football all lead to a lower risk of developing cancer and dying from it.
However, the study found that people must exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.
Experts followed 2,560 men from eastern Finland with no history of cancer and asked them how often they exercised.
The men, aged 42-61, filled in questionnaires and undertook physical tests to measure the intensity of their exercise.
They were followed up for an average of almost 17 years and were aged 53 on average at the start of the follow-up.
The authors, from the universities of Kuopio and Oulu in Finland, said high intensity exercise was best for lowering the risk of getting cancer and dying from it, particularly lung and gastrointestinal cancers.
Obesity diseases cost US $147bn a year in treatment
Obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10 per cent of all US medical spending, or an estimated $147 billion a year, researchers said yesterday.
They said US obesity rates rose 37 per cent between 1998 and 2006, driving an 89 per cent increase in spending on treatments for obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and other conditions.
Obese people spent an extra $1,429 a year or 42 per cent more for medical care in 2006 than did normal weight people, with most of that spent on prescription drugs, the researchers said.
The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, was released at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s conference in Washington on the Weight of the Nation. More than 26 per cent of Americans are obese, which means they have a body mass index of 30 or higher. BMI is equal to weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. A person who is 5ft 5ins tall (165 cm) becomes obese at 180 pounds (82kg).